Easter is believed to be the oldest Christian observance after the Sabbath and is celebrated in the spring. The festival celebrating one of the most important events in the Christian faith: the resurrection of Christ three days after his crucifixion. The entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter.
The celebration is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy Week, and then followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.
Historians believe that Easter came about through a convergence of three traditions, Pagan, Hebrew and Christian.
The most accepted theory of its origin was established by St. Bede, an English historian in the early 8th century, that Easter owes its origin to Teutonic mythology. The spring celebration was held in honor of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The actual festival was held on the vernal equinox (the first day of spring). The celebration was renamed Easter with the introduction of Christianity by the Saxons.
The name "Easter", however is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they chose Easter as the name for this day so that it would match the old spring celebration and be more comfortable for people to accept.
Many believe, however, that Easter is related to the Jewish Passover, which is celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year. Passover commemorates Israel's deliverance from about 300 years of bondage in Egypt.
It was during Passover that Christ was crucified under the order of Pontius Pilate as the Jewish high priests had accused Christ of "blasphemy". His resurrection came three days later, on Easter Sunday. By the 4th century, however, Good Friday became observed as a separate occasion with Easter being devoted exclusively to Christ's resurrection.
It was then the celebration shifted from the glorification of the physical return of the Sun God to the Sun of Righteousness who had erased the horror of death forever.
Easter is known as the moveable feast.
The day of celebration however resulted in a dispute between the Eastern and Western churches. At one time, Passover and Easter occurred on the same day. The Eastern churches, however, wanted to observe it on a weekday because early Christians had observed Passover every year on the 14th of Nisan, the lunar calendar year. But the West wanted it observed on Sunday regardless of the date.
At one time, Passover and Easter occurred on the same day. However emperor Constantine called together the Nicene Council in 325 A.D., and the churchmen fixed the date of Easter as the first Sunday following the Paschal full moon. This is the first full moon after the vernal equinox, March 21. This system is still followed today with Easter Sunday moving been March 22 and April 25th.
Preparation for the feast begins with Ash Wednesday followed by forty days of penitence known as Lent with Lent, the Holy Week and Easter, ending on Sunday the day of resurrection.
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